Golf-ball ejector



V(i. W. WADDELL.

GOLF BALL EJECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 25. me.

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GOLF BALL ELECT-0R.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25,1919. 1,402,026 Patented Jan. 3, 1922.

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GOLF-BALL EJECTOR.

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Application led November 25, 1919. Serial No. 340,501.

To all whom 'it may concer-n Be it known that I, GEORGE l/V. VADDELL, citizen of the United States, residing at Syracuse, in the county of Kosciusko and State of Indiana, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Ball Ejectors, of which the following is a specification.

rl`his invention relates to a ball ejector for use in the cups or holes positioned on the greens of golf courses. i

In the game of golf the course played over is divided into a series of holes separated from each other by varying distances in which natural or other impediments to play may be located.' The player drives a ball from a teeing platform adjacent one hole toward another hole and the object is to reach the hole in thejshortest number of playing strokes possible. On arriving adj acent the hole there is a relatively smooth grass plot forming what is termed a green and near the center of which is located a hole or cup, the object of the player being to eventually roll the ball into this hole or cup by striking the ball with the proper golf club. Each hole is marked, as a general rule,

by a Ystandard fixed 'on a staff and the staff of which entends down into the hole so that prior to making any eort to putt the ball into the hole the player must see that the staff is removed so as to form no obstruction to the entrance of the ball. After the stall` is removed and the player knocks the ball into the hole he must reach into the hole or cup placed in such hole and remove his ball in order to continue playing. n

As a group of players approach a hole one of the caddies accompanying them usually runs forward and removes the marker staff from the hole, replacing it after the players have holed in andthe balls have been taken out of the cup.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a ball ejector whichinay be placed within the hole or cup defining the hole and may be operated to eject the balls from said hole or cup.A

A further feature of the invention is to arrange the same so that the marker sta-ffmay be removed from the hole when desired and on replacing the saine the balls will be automatically ejected from the hole or cup.

Another feature is to provide a device for ej ecting the balls from the hole or cup which is so constructed that a false bottom auto- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, i922.

vmatically raises the lballs to the surface level and rolls them out without any effort on the part of the caddie other than nierelyreplacing the marker staff in the hole.

h A still further feature resides in provid lng such a device as is above mentioned which cooperates with the marker staff in such a manner as to form a support therefor and yetl leaves no projections above the surface of the green when the marker staff vis removed and which might form obstructions to the entrance of the ball into the hole or cup.

In the drawings:

' Figurel is a phantom perspective show` ing the ball ejector located in a cup,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section *centrally through the-ball ejector and cup andshowing the same in its normal position,

Fig. 3 is av view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the position of the false bottoni immediately on insertion of the markerY staff, Y

Fig. 4: is a transverse section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a transverseV section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a vperspective View of the false I bottom and its attendant from the bodyof the ejector, Y

Fig. 7 is a'dis'semfbled view of one half of the ejector body and attendant parts.

In detail the ejector, as illustrated is adapted to set either into a cup l of cylindrif cal form such as is usually placed in the holes on golf greens or may be placed diA parts removed rectly into a cylindricalhole, in `which case its operation as will be hereinafter described serves to clean the hole of loose earth as each player or group of players leave the green. The cup l is provided with a drain outlet 2 in the bottom thereof.

v The ejector proper includes duplicate castings A and B one of which is clearly shown in Fig. 7 and comprises semi-circular base and head members 3 and 5 respectively, said base member being provided with a drain opening 7 registering with the drain outlet 2 in the cup 1. YThe 'base and head 3 and 5 are connected byV a body 8; the two castings A and B have matching abutting faces and are held together by bolts 9 eX-. tending lthrough holes 10 and carrying nuts 11. The body Sis substantially rectangu-` lar in cross section and is offset with respect to the center of the `head and base of the ejector. The assembled castings A andB are bored vertically as at 12 on the common center line of the heads and bases 3, and a boss 13 extends above the level of the head 5 and surrounds the bore 12 to prevent water and dirt from entering the same as would be the case if the mouth ofthe bore 12 remained on a level with the upper surface of the head 5. Each half A and B isprovided with a vert-i cal recess 14- near the periphery of the head 5 and a boss 15, the two halves when assembled forming a. vertical chamber 16 of rectangular cross section and bosses cooperating to perform the same function asV cooperating cut-outs and recesses combine,

when the two castings A and B are in assembled relation, to form a housing for a pinion .21 thehub 22 of whichrides in the counter recess 19 and the spindle 23 of which rides inthe counter-recess 20 of each half or casting A and i3.V The pinion 21 is thus confined to rotation in the said housing formed by the cooperating cut-out and re- Y cess but may rise and fall vertically to a lirnited extent for purposes to be hereinafter Y set forth. Teeth 211- on said pinion project into the bore 12 and vertical chamber 16.

In the bottom of the vertical bore 12 is a teeth 24 on the pinion 2l as the rack 28 is offset from the center of the false bottom 26 sufficiently so that the raclr 28|enters the vertical chamber 16. Adjacent the top of the rack 28 the teeth are interrupted for a space as ,shown at 30, thelthiclrness of the rack at this point beingequal to the normal thickness of the rack less the depth of the teeth. When the raclr and false bottoni 26 are in position they normally occupy positions Shown in Fig. 2. A marker C 'provided with a staff 31 carries on its lower end a cylindrical rack 32, the teeth 33 of which are of the right vpitch to engage the teeth of the pinion 21 andadjacent the upper end of the rack 32 the teeth 33 are interrupted for a space as shown at 34, the dimension's of the space 30 of the rack car-A ried by the false bottom and the space 3a of the cylindrical rack carried by the staff 31 are equal. .At the top the staff 31 is pro! vided with arms 35 and 36 orany other suitable Ymeans forming a display signal to indicate the location of the hole. The lower end of the rack 32 buffs against the buffer spring 25 in descending into the bore 12.

The operation of the ejector is as follou's1--Suppose the parts to be assembled in their respective positions as.. shown in F ig. 2 and a group of players is about to approach the green with the object of driving the balls into the cup 1. The caddie precedes the players and removes the staff 31 from the hole and in so doing the rack teeth 33 of the rack 32 engage the pinion 21 and rotate the same but the position of the false bottom is such that'the interrupted space 30 of the rack 28 carried by the false bottom is directly opposite the pinion and as the staff 31is withdrawn it merely raises the pinion bodily in its recess and rotates it freely against the interrupted portion 3() of said rack 28. However, suppose that the players have holed in and the balls are in the position shown in the cup 1 of Fig. 2 and the caddie or players desire to remove the same. The staff 31 having been removed is reinserted in the central bore 12 through the boss 27 in the false bottom 26 and the rack 32 engages'with the pinion; the pinion 21 has bodily dropped in its recess Sufiiciently so that its teeth engage the first tooth of the rack A28 and the weight of the staff 31 orV the pressure vplaced thereon by the persons inserting the saine is sufiicient so Vthat the teeth 32 engaging the pinion roll it in the direction indicated by the dotted arrow in Fig. 3 and raise the false bottom 26 above the surface of the green as shown inYFig. 3 carrying with it the .balls contained inthe cup 1 and which oiferno obstruction to the movementy of the false bottom 26 diie tothe fact that the balls arespherical in form and roll easily against each other andV against the sloping surface of the falsebottoni 26 and the vertical side wall of the cup 1. After the ejector has been thus' operated Vto eject the ball and the false bottom 26 has risen to its maximum height and the staff 31 of which the rack 32 is a part has descended and bulied against the spring 25 it rests with its interrupted space 34 in such a position that the teeth of the pinion 21 do not engage with the teeth of the rack 32 and the false bottom 26 guided on the stati' 31 therefore returns by gravity to the normal position shown in Fig. 2, the rack 28 merely revolv ing the pinion 21 in its housing. lf de sired a springbuifer similar to the spring buffer 25 may also be located in the bot tom of the vertical chamber 16 to receive the end o12 the rack 28.' A drain 35 is provided inthe head 5 so that water entering Vthe top of theY cup 1 vwill drain on down through the drains 2 and 7. Y

'lt will seen from the foregoing that l have provided a device which may also be used in holes on golf courses where the holes are not provided with cups 1 and each operation of the ejector will not only carry with it the balls contained in the hole but will also serve to keep the walls of the holes in proper condition and carry away the loose dirt. This is a particularly important feature even with the holes in which cups l are used as the upper edge or mouth of the cup l is usually depressed beneath the surface of the ground so as to form a rolling edge around the hole and it is necessary that this edge be kept, at all times, in proper condition to permit the entrance of the balls. It is to be noted that when the staff 3l is removed there is no part of the device which projects above the top ofthe cup l to oer obstruction to the entrance of the balls, thus leaving a clear playing field around the cup.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. Means for removing balls from a golf hole comprising a marker staE insertable in and removable from the golf hole, an ejector normally housed within the golf hole, and cooperating means upon the staff and within the hole operable by insertion of the marker staff whereby the ejector will be lifted from the hole and remove the balls.

2. Means for removing balls from a golf hole comprising a marker staff insertable in and removable from the golf hole, an ejector normally housed within the golf hole, cooperating means upon the statin and within the hole operable by insertion of the marker stan whereby the ejector will be lifted from the hole and remove the balls, and means whereby after the ejector has been raised the last-mentioned means will be freed and the ejector permitted to re-enter the hole.

3. Means for removing balls from a golf hole comprising a marker staff insertable into and removable from the golf hole, an ejector normally housed within the golf hole, operating mechanism comprising a member carried by the ejector, a cooperating member held within the golf hole, and means carried by the marker staff to actuate the operating mechanism upon insertion of the staff whereby the ejector will be raised from the golf hole and remove the balls,V

said operating mechanism being arranged to release the ejector and permit its return when the marker stafl:I has been fully inserted.

a. Means for ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a marker staff, a marker staff support including ball ejecting means, and mechanism connecting the marker staffn and said support whereby movement of the staff in said support operates the ball ejecting means.

5. Means for ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a marker stai' carrying a rack, a false bottom for said hole also carrying a rack, and means for engagementY with the two racks to place the same in geared relation on downward movement of said marker staff.

6. Means for ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a marker staffI carrying a rack, a false bottom forl said hole also carrying a rack, and means gearing the two racks for upward movement of the false bottom rack on downward movement of the marker staff rack.

7. Means for ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a marker staff carrying a rack, a false bottom for saidhole also carrying a rack, and means engaging the teeth of both racks on movement of the marker staff rack in one direction.

8. Means for ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a marker staff carrying a rack having interrupted teeth at one point, a false bottom carrying a rack having interrupted teeth at a similar point, and a bodily movable pinion confined between said racks for engagement with both racks on movement of thev marker staff raclr in onepdirection.

9. Means for ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a marker staff having a Y rack having interrupted teeth at one point, a false bottom carrying a rack also having interrupted teeth at one point, and a bodily movable pinion normally engaging the teeth of the rack carried by the false bottom and moved bodily out of engagement with said teeth on movement of the marker staff rack in one direction and rotating in engagement with said false bottom rack to move the false bottomwhen said marker staff rack is moved in an opposite direction.

10. Means for ejecting golf balls from 105 holes, comprising a removable marker staff,

a rack carried by said staff and having an interruption at its upper end, a rising and falling false bottom for said hole, a rack carried by said bottom and having an inter- 110 ruption at its upper end, and a bodily movable pinion for engagement with both racks, removal of said marker staff bodily moving said pinion out of engagement with said false bottom rack to permit independent 115 movement of said marker staffl rack and replacement of said marker sta rotating said pinion in engagement with said false bottom rack to move the latter in a direction oppositekto the movement of said marker staff 120 rac 1l. Means for ej ecting golf balls from holes, comprising a cylindrical ball receptacle, and a movable false bottom ejector member in said receptacle and forming a marker 125 staff' support, and a marker sta for insertion in said support and mechanism connecting the said ejector andstaff to momentarily raise and lower said false bottom to eject balls from said receptacle.

l2. Means vitor ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a body member located in a hole and having a bore receiving a removable marker stai-i provided with a rack7 a chamber in 'iid body receiving a second rack carrying a `false bottom, and means con-` necting the tivo racks lor movement in opposite directions on replacing oit said marker statt. v

13. Means for ejecting golr" balls from holes, comprising a body member located in a hole and having a bore receiving a removable marker statt' provided with a rack, a chamber in said body receiving a second rack i"'oi' reciprocal movement only and carrying a false bottom, and means connecting the two racks, for movement in opposite directions on replacement of said marker staff.

lil. Means for ejecting golf balls fromV holes, comprising a body member located in a hole and having a bore receiving a removable marker stall' provided with a rack, a chamber in said body receiving a second rack carrying a false bottom and a bodily and rotatably movable pinion ratchet member connecting the two racks 'for simultaneous movement in opposite directions on replacing said marker staff to raise said false bottoni above the ground level and eject the balls.

i l5. `Means for ej ecting balls from holes comprising a false bottom of truste-conical form, and raclr and pinion-means for automatically raising said vbottom above the month of the hole to cause said frustoconical surface to roll the balls away from the mouth of the hole.

16. Means for ejecting balls from holes, comprising a false bottom, and rack and pinion means for raising said false bottom above the mouth of said hole to'cause the same to expel the balls carried thereby, and removable marker stall1 means having a rack for engaging said pinion opposite to the first-mentioned rack for moving said bottom only on replacement of said marker stati.

,v 17. Means for ejecting golf balls from holes, comprising a body member having a vertically positioned bore and a chamber parallel therewith, said body member having a recess between the bore and chamber at the top, a rotatable pinion bodily movable in a vertical plane in said recess, a false bottom having a rack in said'chamber With interrupte'd teeth at the-point normally opposite said pinion, and a markerstaf having a rack seating in said bore and With interrupted teeth opposite said pinion, removal of' said marker stati rack meshing the same -vvith g said pinion to bodily move the latter up- Wardly and rotate it out of engagement With the teeth ot' said false bottom rack and re placement of said markerstafraclr rotating said pinion into engagement With said false bottomrack to raise the latter.; F

ln testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE W. VVADDELL. [ns] 

